Leviathan

The video link for this lesson is at the bottom of this page, but the written lesson offers a deeper, fuller understanding.

1. Introduction

Leviathan is a spirit assigned to stop God’s call to the apostolic people of God.

2. Old Testament Leviathan

Most references to Leviathan have come from the book of Job, with some verses in Isaiah and Psalms.

A. Multi-headed

Psalms describe Leviathan as being multi-headed:

You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

Psalms 74:14

Therefore, it is a spirit, not a natural animal, because it has multiple heads. It is also the described as the multi-headed beast of Daniel and Revelation.

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

Revelation 13:1

B. Scales

Job makes it obvious that this beast has scales:

His rows of scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.

Job 41:15-16

C. Fiery Breathing

Job 41 also teaches us that this spirit is fire-breathing:

Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.

Job 41:19

D. Serpent

We also learn that Leviathan is a twisting serpent:

In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong,
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
Leviathan that twisted serpent;
And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

Isaiah 27:1

E. Dragon

We get the complete interpretation when we look at the Hebraic meaning of Leviathan:
לִוְיָתָןliwyâṯân; a wreathed animal, i.e. a serpent, figuratively, the constellation of the dragon;

Now let’s look at the New Testament to interpret who Leviathan is.

3. New Testament Dragon

When we examine these four characteristics of Leviathan, we find they are reflected in the New Testament.

A. Identifying Leviathan

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.

Reveation 12:3

From this verse, we see three of Leviathan’s four major attributes: it is multi-headed, fiery, and a dragon, i.e., having scales.

B. Leviathan of the New Covenant is a Dragon

Further on in this chapter, we find that it is also a serpent:

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old,

Revelation 12:9

C. Leviathan Identified as the Devil

We now get an interpretation of who this spirit is – the devil himself.

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:9

In the New Testament, it is identified as a dragon attacking the son of God:

His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:4

And then the sons and daughters of the kingdom:

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17

We look further into this chapter in our lesson on God’s Kingdom Here Now.

4. God Assigns Leviathan to Strengthen the Men and Women of God.

A. Satan’s Perspective

In the eyes of the devil, his goal is to destroy anything that glorifies the Trinity. God created humankind in His image and declared it good. Since Satan is the arch-enemy of all that is good and cannot directly attack God, he targets the image of God—humanity.

Therefore, by attacking humanity through sickness and torment, he is robbing from the father-heart of God. Sadly, some teachings today claim there is a war between God and the devil.

We know that God created Lucifer. Therefore, God can destroy Satan at any time He chooses. However, right now, God allows the devil to help refine and strengthen the sons and daughters of God.

B. God’s Perspective of Satan

God’s perspective differs from the devil’s. To understand God’s view, we must see ourselves from His perspective, not the devil’s. God is not anxious and has given us His commands. When we examine the Hebraic meaning of the word ‘devil,’ we begin to see things from God’s perspective.

שָׂטָן śâṭân; an opponent; the arch-enemy of good: — adversary, Satan, withstand.

C. Mystery of the Father’s Will

We must remember that Leviathan is a spirit God made but has fallen. The lesson on the mystery of His will teaches us that God wants us to display to Leviathan and every spirit what God’s will and wisdom are through overcoming Leviathan.

to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 3:10

5. The Devil Himself Will Attack Apostles.

As the spirit of Jezebel attacks the prophet, Leviathan himself will attack the apostle.

When Leviathan raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.

Job 41:25

A. Ambassadors

In this verse, when we look at the Hebrew word mighty, we find that it is the word el
אֵל’ êl; god, god-like one, mighty one, mighty men, men of rank, mighty heroes

The apostles are like the mighty ones.

ἀπόστολος Apostolos; a delegate; especially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ with miraculous powers; he that is sent

They are ambassadors taking the kingdom’s message, power, and dominion into areas where the domain is not yet established.

B. Maturing the Apostle

The devil will send an assignment against anyone who desires to become a mighty man or woman of God. However, for the apostle, Leviathan himself will attack. God’s process of maturing an apostle takes a long time. It took 13–17 years to prepare the Apostle Paul, and the same is true today. When Leviathan attacks an apostle in training, the Spirit of God will release revelation about Leviathan through the Word of God and the Spirit.

C. Personal testimony:

When God saw my faithfulness in fulfilling my role as a prophet to the nations, He called me to apostleship in 1994. Satan recognised the apostolic gift in my life and tried to shut me down. God then revealed to me from the Bible how to overcome the demonic assignment against me. Just as I had to confront and overcome Jezebel during my preparation for the prophetic office, I now needed to learn to fight and triumph over the devil himself if I was to succeed as an apostle.

A Prophet or Prophetess has the grace to overcome Jezebel.

An apostle, whether male or female, will have the grace to overcome Leviathan. Remember, Junia was a woman apostle, greater than many male apostles.

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

Romans 16:7

6. Leviathan the False Abiding

One of the revelations the church is uncovering now is the significance of abiding.

A. True Abiding

Unless we learn to abide, we will not be fruitful:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

And nor can we see prayer answered the way we desire:

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

John 15:7

So it makes sense that if the devil wants to succeed, he will do anything to prevent us from abiding. For example, he will try to stop us from abiding through prayer and reading the Word of God.

B. Leviathan the False Abider

Amazingly, the Hebrew word for Leviathan originates from the root word:

לָוָה lâwâ; to twine, to unite, — abide with; also to borrow (as a form of obligation), cleave,

We are meant to abide with and intertwine ourselves with God. So Leviathan will attempt to:

• Conceal the significance of abiding in the Trinity.
• Bring false teaching on abiding to undermine our authority as sons and daughters.

He will also try to cause demonic oppression for a Christian or possession for a non-Christian. This will lead to the following:

• An attempt to make us abide in Satan.
• Bring us into financial bondage to Satan.
• Cause us to come into contractual agreements with him.

7. Leviathan is King Over Proud Children.

He beholds every high thing;
He is king over all the children of pride.”

Job 41:34

A. Inheriting the Earth

The description of Leviathan being “king over all who are proud” provides us with a key to preventing the spirit from overpowering us. Avoiding Leviathan’s dominance requires walking in humility. This humility enables us to overcome it, as Jesus says:

Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

B. Defining Humility

If we want to be successful in taking control of Leviathan for the benefit of the nations by walking in humility, we need to understand what meekness is:

• Meekness is defined as restrained strength.

C. Moses

Moses is regarded as the most humble person of the Old Covenant.

(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

Numbers 12:3

Moses led millions of people for forty years, so we should not think that humility is weak, nor should we believe it means allowing others to walk all over us. We need healthy boundaries, but as leaders, we must also remember that we are called to serve the people entrusted to us. There are times when we need to gently rebuke them, but we must never curse them.

Moses is the only person the devil argued over when Jesus descended into Sheol (Hades).

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!

Jude 1:9

This is because Moses brought the law, and the law brings a curse. Satan wanted to reinstate the law because he would be empowered again to use it against Christians.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

Galatians 3:10

There is no evidence that Moses or Elijah were in Sheol when Jesus preached the gospel to them, as they were on the Mount of Transfiguration. We see that Michael rebuked Satan, not people, so this kind of rebuke is first under the law and secondly not meant for people.

For a full understanding of this, please read our extensive 50-page “Why Hell Does Not Involve Eternal Torment,” which looks at every scripture on Apollyon, Hades, Sheol, Hell, Tartaros, and Gehenna.

8. It Will Attack Good People.

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

Job 1:8

Although walking in humility means Leviathan does not rule over us, being good does not prevent it from attacking us. Job was a blameless and upright man in God’s sight, yet Leviathan still attacked Job.

Like Job, we may face persecution, lose our jobs, and be mistreated for standing up for Jesus Christ.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:37-39

The New Covenant does not shield us from persecution or hardship, so there are times when Leviathan may seem to succeed in carrying out an assignment against us. However, Abba Father always works everything for good, because that is His nature toward His children:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

So when the devil attacks us, God immediately starts restoring us. Sometimes, we need to change how we think about ourselves, others, or God. This is precisely what repentance means: “Change the way you think, for the kingdom is here.”

Regarding my walk with God, I frequently remind myself that “the devil is a tool in the hand of God for the perfecting of the saints”. So, the process may involve discipline from my Father.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

Hebrews 12:5-7

The outcome of this process is always good:

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

9. The Weaponry Used Against it Must be Powerful.

Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?

Job 41:7

A. Job Lived when Death Reigned

The Book of Job is the earliest book in the Bible chronologically; at that time, Abraham was still in the land of Ur, around 2000 BCE. Therefore, the harpoon and fishing spears were considered advanced weapons for that period. It is also important to remember that this was before Moses’s deliverance of the Israelites and the establishment of the Abrahamic Covenant. During this era, death still held sway.

Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Romans 5:14

B. Reigning Sons and Daughters

Some have claimed that Leviathan cannot be beaten because of this verse:

Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle—
Never do it again!

Job 41:8

We must remember that this scripture was written in a different era before the Old Covenant took effect.

We are under a different covenant, where neither sin nor death rules, and we are the sons and daughters of God.

so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:21

Because we are in Christ Jesus and He inhabits us, the principalities and powers are not only under Jesus’ feet but also under ours.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

Ephesians 1:22

But we must use wisdom to defeat him:

to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 3:10

C. Our Powerful Weapons

We are not only sons and daughters but also kings and priests:

and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 1:6

Because we are kings and queens, we also have mighty spiritual weapons at our disposal to fight principalities and powers.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

2 Corinthians 10:4

D. Leviathan has been Cast Down

At the time of Job, Satan was still in heaven.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

Job 1:6

However, when Jesus ascended into heaven, Satan was cast down to earth and could no longer enter heaven.

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:7-9

For these reasons, Leviathan can now be defeated. In my view, similarly, the prophet will overcome Jezebel, the apostolic people of God—those whom God is training for apostleship—will overcome Leviathan. This is because our weapons are now powerful enough to pierce his scaly armour.

“Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armour of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:

Isaiah 45:1

This kingdom anointing grants us this authority and power, as we learned in the lesson from Cyrus’ life.

10. Apostles Rule the Nations.

There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.

Psalms 104:26

A. The Sea Refers to the Nations of the World.

Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

Revelation 17:15

We interpret the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament, so we learn from the Book of Revelation that the sea symbolises the peoples of the nations.

B. The Apostles Take the Nations

The word apostle is the Greek word:

• ἀπόστολος Apostolos, which means an ambassador of the Gospel, officially a commissioner of Christ with miraculous powers.

The Spirit of God sends apostles to the nations; therefore, if they are to succeed in taking the nations, they will have to overcome the spirit of Leviathan.

Let us now examine some of the symptoms of Leviathan’s attack on the sons and daughters of God.

11. Evidence of Leviathan Spirit

A. Leviathan is a Mocking Spirit.

There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.

Psalms 104:26

The Greek word for play is more accurately ‘to mock.’

שָׂחַק śâḥaq; deride, have in derision, laugh, make merry, mock(-er)

In other words, Leviathan is a mocking spirit that laughs condescendingly at churches that lack understanding of spiritual warfare and how to claim dominion.

and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 3:9-10

Our aim is to unsettle principalities and powers. We should not pay attention whenever Leviathan mocks us; instead, we should be like Nehemiah and keep pushing the kingdom of God forward.

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”
So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:3,6

B. Leviathan Causes Coldness

One sign of a spiritual attack by this spirit is feeling cold towards God’s things or the Spirit’s movement.

His rows of scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;

Job 41:15

When I see people cold towards God in meetings, I consider whether Leviathan is at work and needs to be overcome.

C. Quenching the Holy Spirit.

The scales mentioned in the previous verse are so close together that no air can get through:

One is so near another
That no air can come between them;

Job 41:16

The Holy Spirit is the breath of God, as we see in the opening verses of the Bible. The Hebrew term for Spirit of God is:

• רוּחַ rûaḥ; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible exhalation

So, Leviathan will attempt to quench the Spirit of God.

Do not quench the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

D. Leviathan Produces Terror.

When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.

Job 41:25

God saves anyone who calls on the name of the Lord. Salvation is not only about being “saved from your sins”. Salvation means to rescue; therefore, Jesus will save you from any terror Leviathan throws at you. Jesus saves us from sin, sickness and terror.

E. Disunity

Job teaches us that Leviathan’s departure will not mean everything will be alright.

He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.

Job 41:32

Personal testimony: I was invited to speak at a church and felt led to deliver this teaching on Leviathan. After the teaching, the church leaders and I commanded Leviathan to leave. About a month later, an elder rose against the senior pastor and left the church, taking several families with him. Their departure coincided with many evil manifestations, and the elder was briefly jailed for making false accusations that the police found to be untrue.

The Holy Spirit was now able to move more freely within the church, and a few months later, the church grew by 400 members, with revival breaking out and over 200 people accepting Jesus as Lord of their lives.

You know that Leviathan is involved when people leave a congregation and leave a trail of destruction behind them. However, the long-term outcome will be much better for the church, ministry, or business.

F. Gossip

In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong,
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
Leviathan that twisted serpent;
And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

Isaiah 27:1

Leviathan is like a twisting serpent, and a common sign of Leviathan is distorted communication. Usually, the speaker says one thing, but the listener hears something different. When Leviathan is involved, this often leads to someone getting offended and causing division.

People under Leviathan’s influence will distort the truth, confusing what was actually said to them with what they think they heard.

It is essential to ensure the listener clearly understands the speaker during difficult or confrontational conversations. For example, in marriage counselling, we often ask the listener to repeat back what they heard their spouse say.

In cross-cultural apostolic ministry, language and cultural differences make these issues extremely common and difficult to untangle in the natural realm. This requires wisdom from the counsellor and humility from those caught in the entanglement.

G. Religious sorrow

Leviathan carries a spirit of sorrow.

Strength dwells in his neck,
And sorrow dances before him.

Job 41:22

Although Leviathan will bring sorrow, it may also manifest as religious people trying to compel others to exhibit “godly sorrow.”

In our lesson on repentance, we learned why godly sorrow is not, in itself, evidence of repentance. When the Holy Spirit produces godly sorrow, it is a decisive work that is followed by times of refreshing:

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Acts 3:19

Therefore, one way to tell whether it is godly sorrow rather than mere religious sorrow is to look for the joy that follows shortly afterwards:

for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17

Joy in the Holy Spirit is the true manifestation of the kingdom of God operating in a person’s life.

12. Leviathan Attacks

A. Through Friends

Reading through the Book of Job, we find that Job’s friends accused Job of many things that were not true, usually multiple times through different people, just like Job’s Friends.

B. Your Children.

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:18-19

C. Your Finances.

As we saw above, the root word for Leviathan includes trying to have control over your finances.

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house;
and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,
when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:13-17

D. Your Health.

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

Job 2:7

The atonement includes healing to stand against all sickness that the devil brings. Disease never comes from God.

E. Your Spouse and Marriage.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Job 2:9

F. Your Character.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Job 2:9

13. Summary

• Leviathan is a demonic spirit over the nations.
• Leviathan is the devil in the Book of Revelation.
• After he could not destroy the first-begotten son of God, Leviathan’s primary purpose is to try and destroy the sons and daughters of the kingdom.
• God uses this spirit to train His apostles to advance the kingdom.
• Our paramount protection is humility and meekness.
• Leviathan will try to hide or distort the truth of abiding in God.
• Its main function is to kill, rob and destroy.
• When Satan himself attacks, rather than through his demonic army, it will appear multi-directional, causing offence and division.
• Religious spirits work closely with Leviathan.
• The attacks may be on or from closest family members and friends.
• It may also attack your health, finances and character
• Humility and Abiding in God are your best defence.

©Use by Permission Awakening Impact Ministries/Dr Neville Westerbeek van Eerten D. Miss. BVSc 2026